This publication, while containing elements that can be applied to communities of all scales, specifically focuses on opportunities and potential for small towns to go car-free. With their small size, historically dense development, involved communities, and many other factors, they offer ideal settings for showing the rest of the world what a shift away from motor vehicle transportation can look like. As small towns prove the successes and benefits of a car-free system, larger cities and new developments can learn from the moves they make, developing car-free systems at larger scales.
Through an exploration of the opportunities, benefits, and essential elements associated with car-free communities, as well as a break down of how to make the transition and a list of future technologies that will make going car-free more approachable, this analysis aims to reveal how perceived challenges can be overcome to achieve success in creating human-centered, healthy, equitable, and livable communities.